Lance Taylor Expected To Become RB Coach At Notre Dame

A source confirmed to Blue & Gold Illustrated what was first reported by Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel that former Carolina Panthers coach Lance Taylor will be hired to coach running backs at Notre Dame.

Taylor spent the last two seasons coaching wide receivers for the Panthers, but the three seasons prior he coached running backs at Stanford. Taylor tutored Heisman Trophy runner-up Christian McCaffrey during his record breaking 2015 season. McCaffrey rushed for a then Stanford record 2,019 yards that season, and his 3,864 all-purpose yards broke the previous record of 3,250 yards set by Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders back in 1988.

A season later, McCaffrey rushed for 1,603 yards and 13 touchdowns, while his backup - Bryce Love - added another 783 yards. The pair combined to average 6.6 yards per carry and racked up 3,240 all-purpose yards.

Taylor recruited Love to Stanford and coached the Cardinal standout during his first two seasons. In 2017, the year after Taylor departed for the Cardinals, Love broke McCaffrey's single-season rushing record, rolling up 2,118 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns.

In 2013, Taylor served as an assistant coach with the Carolina Panthers, and he served various roles with the New York Jets from 2010-12. His first full-time coaching gig was coaching wide receivers at Appalachian State in 2009. A former walk-on receiver at Alabama, Taylor got his coaching start as a graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Alabama.

Taylor doesn't have an extensive recruiting background, but the time he spent at Stanford proved highly successful. According to 247Sports, Taylor was the primary recruiter for Love. The network also reports Taylor as being the primary recruiter for Rivals250 defensive end Ryan Johnson, four-star offensive tackle Clark Yarbrough and wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.

Arcega-Whiteside racked up 1,059 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in 2018 and led the Cardinal in receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2017. According to his bio at Stanford, Taylor was responsible for recruiting Los Angeles, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.